Roger Moore leads tributes to Christopher Lee

SIR Roger Moore is "terribly sad" to have lost one of his "oldest friends" Sir Christopher Lee.

The James Bond star was among the first to pay tributes to the star on twitter shortly after learning of the 93-year-old actor's death in Chelsea and Westminster Hospital on Sunday (07.06.15) after being treated for respiratory problems.

He tweeted: "It's terribly (sad) when you lose a friend. And Christopher Lee was one of my oldest. We first met in 1948."

Elijah Wood, who played Frodo Baggins alongside Lee's Lord Saruman in the 'Lord of the Rings' franchise, tweeted that the actor would be profoundly missed as an "icon, and a towering human being with stories for days."

He added: "he loved to regale everyone with his various and many extraordinary experiences.(sic)"

And Jonathan Ross who interviewed the late actor many times, wrote: "So sad to hear that Sir Christopher Lee has died. A great actor, a great star, a surprisingly good singer and a lovely lovely man."

The acting legend was knighted for services to drama and charity in 2009 and will be most remembered for being Count Dracula in a string of popular Hammer Horror movies, also for his roles as Francisco Scaramanga in the James Bond film 'The Man with the Golden Gun' and Saruman in 'The Lord of the Rings' and 'The Hobbit' trilogies, as well as Count Dooku in the 'Star Wars' prequel trilogy.

He is survived by his wife Birgit Kroencke and daughter Christina Erika Carandini.